2000-02 Lagunas
Discussion
Hi guys a question from my other half please.
We had a 1998 old shape Laguna, and after about 120k on the clock, the heaters went, they wouldn't blow hot air, other than that it was a great car and he loved it to bits.
Looking to get now, maybe a 2000 to 2002 reg, diesel Laguna, does anyone know of any problems that affect either the high milage at that age or any other issues affecting Lagunas of that age, and how is the milage supposed to go on a diesel engine of a car that age (obviously subject to the way the car has been treated), we just need to know if it would be a good buy, hoping to get about 5 years out of it, or is it money thrown away?
He is a fan of the Laguna, so no negatives please, just honest issues with the car before he thinks about spending his money.
Ta muchly
We had a 1998 old shape Laguna, and after about 120k on the clock, the heaters went, they wouldn't blow hot air, other than that it was a great car and he loved it to bits.
Looking to get now, maybe a 2000 to 2002 reg, diesel Laguna, does anyone know of any problems that affect either the high milage at that age or any other issues affecting Lagunas of that age, and how is the milage supposed to go on a diesel engine of a car that age (obviously subject to the way the car has been treated), we just need to know if it would be a good buy, hoping to get about 5 years out of it, or is it money thrown away?
He is a fan of the Laguna, so no negatives please, just honest issues with the car before he thinks about spending his money.
Ta muchly
Echo what is said above really! The early 2nd generation Lagunas are hopeless once they get a bit older and higher mileage. Electrical problems abound unfortunately. I'm a massive Renault fan (R4 van and R11 at the moment) but would avoid any early 2000's Laguna. The slightly newer ones seem to be better if your budget can run to it - my dad has a 2005 2.0 Dynamique which has been pretty faultless and is a pretty decent car.
What about something else - Vel Satis
can be very cheap and are reasonably reliable, depreciation is horrendous and are a lot of car for the money! Otherwise maybe last of 1st generation Megane or Kangoo car - if you can get past the looks they are a reasonably useful thing?
If it has to be a Laguna then just get the best you can find - the one owner, low miler with full dealer service history will be out there somewhere and is probably your best bet at avoiding massive bills!
What about something else - Vel Satis
can be very cheap and are reasonably reliable, depreciation is horrendous and are a lot of car for the money! Otherwise maybe last of 1st generation Megane or Kangoo car - if you can get past the looks they are a reasonably useful thing? If it has to be a Laguna then just get the best you can find - the one owner, low miler with full dealer service history will be out there somewhere and is probably your best bet at avoiding massive bills!
Thanks guys, it's not for us, it's for the mother in law, she fell in love with the Laguna that we had, so when she compiled her shopping list a Laguna was at the top.
She's looking for a diesel, with 5 doors, reliable (of course!), and one that has electric mirrors and windows (she says that is the most important thing), she's 50+ years old so bucket seats are not an option any more (she hates the ones in her Escort at the moment), so if anyone has any ideas what to point her in the direction of, we would be most grateful.
She's looking for a diesel, with 5 doors, reliable (of course!), and one that has electric mirrors and windows (she says that is the most important thing), she's 50+ years old so bucket seats are not an option any more (she hates the ones in her Escort at the moment), so if anyone has any ideas what to point her in the direction of, we would be most grateful.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2004-04-Renault-Laguna-1-8-E...
Find one with good service history and you'll be OK.
GET THE BELTS DONE AS SOON AS YOU GET ONE. Also tensioners. Alternator belt in particular. Renew that belt with every interim service. They have a nasty habit of pulling the v-groove off the edge and wrapping around the crank pulley....
Find one with good service history and you'll be OK.
GET THE BELTS DONE AS SOON AS YOU GET ONE. Also tensioners. Alternator belt in particular. Renew that belt with every interim service. They have a nasty habit of pulling the v-groove off the edge and wrapping around the crank pulley....
Edited by DaveL485 on Friday 4th September 21:22
Having had a 1999 Mk1 Laguna and currently driving a 2002 Mk2 Laguna I will give you my opinion. The advantage of the MK2 Laguna is they depreciate really hard and most of them are extremely well equiped. The problem is they are too complicated and everything seems to cost a fortune to get fixed. If you want a reliable car that never goes wrong then I would recommend looking elsewhere.
The 1.9 DCI's before around 2004 suffer from a problem with the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve. The EGR valve sticks, causes the turbo to overheat and fail and the engine then runs on it's own oil until it seizes.
Most of them seem to have the 17 inch Silverstone alloys which I personally find makes the ride too harsh. This also causes extra strain on the suspension so the front droplinks and rear bushes only last about 50K miles.
I love mine though as it was the most car I could find for the money. It is an initiale which is the top of the range and comes with every possible option including Sat Nav, Heated, electric leather seats, climate control and Xenon headlights. It does however seem a lot more fragile that the MK1 laguna although www.renaultforums.co.uk is an excellent resource for when it does go wrong.
I would however get another one as they are so cheap but it would probably be a 1.8 Dynamique without 17 inch alloys as it has the best compromise between reliable engine and equipment.
Cars after 2005 are apparently the best to go for as most of the problems have been solved yet they are still cheap as noone wants them.
The 1.9 DCI's before around 2004 suffer from a problem with the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve. The EGR valve sticks, causes the turbo to overheat and fail and the engine then runs on it's own oil until it seizes.
Most of them seem to have the 17 inch Silverstone alloys which I personally find makes the ride too harsh. This also causes extra strain on the suspension so the front droplinks and rear bushes only last about 50K miles.
I love mine though as it was the most car I could find for the money. It is an initiale which is the top of the range and comes with every possible option including Sat Nav, Heated, electric leather seats, climate control and Xenon headlights. It does however seem a lot more fragile that the MK1 laguna although www.renaultforums.co.uk is an excellent resource for when it does go wrong.
I would however get another one as they are so cheap but it would probably be a 1.8 Dynamique without 17 inch alloys as it has the best compromise between reliable engine and equipment.
Cars after 2005 are apparently the best to go for as most of the problems have been solved yet they are still cheap as noone wants them.
I have a 52 plate initial model, bought it with a poorly engine 3 years ago for £900, sorted it and its been great ever since (turned out it was gummed up valve seats)
Engine wise very poor on fuel economy, round town it does about 23mpg (2.0 16v ide lump), on a run i get early 30s.
But it has everything fitted and is a pleasant place to be.
Carl
Engine wise very poor on fuel economy, round town it does about 23mpg (2.0 16v ide lump), on a run i get early 30s.
But it has everything fitted and is a pleasant place to be.
Carl
DaveL485 said:
In total honesty (and i'm a Renault NUT-See profile) avoid them. Skip anything 2000-2003. It was absolute garbage.
Seriously, i'd rather buy another R19TD than the first gen2 Laguna's.
As above,Seriously, i'd rather buy another R19TD than the first gen2 Laguna's.
The DCi happen to experience problems with turbos going pop.
I bought a 51 plate 1.9DCi 120 Dynamique like this a couple of years ago for £600, 70k miles, FSH: Blown turbo.
We fitted a brand new turbo, thoroughly cleaned intercooler, CAT and exhaust and was back on the road - all I got was around 34mpg on my 120 mile daily commute. (No Fault codes up, EGR checked etc etc). Even queried this with Renault Main Dealer (who kindly suggested it may be the Cam Belt (yes, really) and they'd take a look... er, no thanks.
The diesels also feel very underpowered, and the 6 speed gearboxes feel notchy.
Agree that the 17" alloys mean a very harsh ride for the type of car - and expensive tyres as a result.
Steer well clear. Look great but they're cheap for a reason.
<edit> Should also say that at the same time I owned a 1997 Laguna 2.2DT which was better build, more comfortable and a nicer all round drive - even though it cost me £150, had covered 260,000 miles (when I sold it 3 weeks ago) and was run on (mainly) Vegetable oil! The early Laguna - Really can't beat them for the money.
</edit>
Edited by Gallen on Tuesday 8th September 16:35
C. Grimsley said:
Engine wise very poor on fuel economy, round town it does about 23mpg (2.0 16v ide lump), on a run i get early 30s.
That sounds pretty poor fuel consumption considering the engine is direct injection for economy! I too have the 2.0 IDE and I averaged 39.7MPG over several hundred miles of Motorway and A road driving recently. I have not calculated any specific round town figures but the car seems to average around 34MPG combined.This may sound like a stupid question but are you sure you are running the correct spark plugs. The direct engine engine is very fussy about plugs and they must be Champion Renault. P/no 7700500192 (REC14PYC plug).
With regards to the 1.9 DCi engine, my wife has this engine in her Scenic II and it is possible to achieve 60MPG on the motorway.
Joey Deacon said:
Cars after 2005 are apparently the best to go for as most of the problems have been solved yet they are still cheap as noone wants them.
having had both a 2003 initiale and a 2005 initiale (pre and post) i can confirm that the facelifted cars are infintely superior. if your budget stretches i'd advocate a later car without hesitation.my earlier car was "fine", but cost me around £2k in 50k, and had just had a new engine / turbo / egr / cat prior to me buying, circa £5k. interior wore badly and was a little dated when compared to later tweaks.
do get them inspected prior to purchase though - may help in haggling?
Many thanks for all the info, they decided that a new Laguna was out of the budget range and as luck would have it, a work colleage of my partner's mentioned that he was wanting to sell his 02 plate Mondeo, summat like £1100 so they have decided to go with that, she's had a go in it and seems to like it, got everything that she wants except its a petrol and not a diesel. so now I guess i am going to get the horror storied about them lol
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